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Write about an apartment building being demolished.

Posted in Sad on Nov 1, 2022

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✍️ 42 stories

Excaveat Emptor

Submitted to Contest #148

It began with letters mailed to each resident, and papers posted on the bulletin board of the foyer, then signs on the front door. A coming day that would mark the end. Not exactly a doomsday, but an inconvenience, to be sure. The challenge of finding a new place to live. For this building and the ground it stood upon was now owned by a development company with grand dreams of a new shopping mall.  The location was perfect, they had gushed. Citing the statistics of growth in the area, and supporting infrastructure already in place. Th...

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It's all going down to the dusty ground

Submitted to Contest #148

As the sun is raising, its light shine through the window, paints the orangish four panels pattern on the white boring blanket with Marianne underneath. Its light itches her eyes a bit, but she lies still, watching where it goes. For a moment, it’s look simple and beautiful, she thinks. It’s so simple that somehow finds it hard to understand why it happens and what it is really. Marianne decides, at last, to get up from the bed. She never hates the bird chipping as much as she does today. It reminds her that it’s the new day already and she ...

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Night Fire

Submitted to Contest #148

Night Fire The memory of the acrid smoke seemed to hang in the March air, and the sounds of that night lingered in my heart. It was nearly impossible for me to still hear or smell either, I knew that. A mind has its own recall though. My ears picked up the slowing of tires on the tarmac behind my post. Everyone who called themselves human was drawn in by misfortune, a fact of life on this planet. If it was on the news you’d shake your head sadly, your finger hovering on the remote. If it was in your neighborhood you could grab some frien...

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This must be a mistake

Submitted to Contest #148

The force of the ball pulses through the whole building. Like an earthquake is happening, grandmas china bursts, family pictures tear from the wall and the whole family screams in horror. “They are here!” the father yells. His eyes shoot across the room rapidly. He is scared but tries to contain himself, tries to appear strong. His duty as a father is to protect his family. They were not supposed to be here this quick. They said they’d still have time to move. This must be a mistake. Or was it his mistake to stay? Was it too late now? Wo...

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McKenna Boarding House, Established 1895

Submitted to Contest #148

John McKenna stood looking towards Prospect Park, straight down 12th Street. His mind exploded with memories starting with his grandfather Patrick teaching him to ride his first bike, to coming home from school proudly showing his mother his grades, to watching his father marching away as he left for Britain, only to die during the Battle of the Bulge, and finally 4 months ago when his mother passed in her sleep, leaving him as the current owner of the small apartment building.  Now, the red brick structure stood empty. Well, ...

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Permanent Residents

Submitted to Contest #148

Note: This story mentions both suicide and murder.Caroline did not mind the quiet so much, but Arthur hated it. Vivian had mentioned that she was getting bored with no tenants around. Ewell had said nothing. The kids, twins named Hazel and Haskell, managed to make their own fun. They chased the mice that scurried down the empty hallways, looked inside the walls at treasures people had hidden and sometimes played in the empty rooms. Still yesterday, Caroline had found them sitting on the stairs in the second floor landing staring out the...

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Goodbye Dunes

Submitted to Contest #148

The Sand Dunes is a pet-friendly apartment complex located in a quiet suburb. It boasts 255 apartments, considered small by most real estate investment standards. Residents can often be seen walking their dogs and chatting up with neighbors. The kids play in the playground area and draw chalk art on the pavement. Voted one of the best apartment complexes for many years, the Sand Dunes often had a waitlist of people wanting to live there. When a resident moved out, an apartment wasn’t vacant for too long. But lately, it’s been a struggle to...

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Construction Project X

Submitted to Contest #148

“Hey boss, James, a member of the team of renovators says, walking towards him, “Is this place really up to bar with renovating, because I really don’t want to waste time to start when everything in that apartment looks like it’s falling apart.” Tray wondered if he had totally missed something when he spoke to the landlord about this apartment complex. “James!” He shouts when he realizes that he has completely messed up, hoping his boyfriend doesn’t kill him when he finds out and stopping James who was just walking into the apartment buildin...

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The Re-Birth Of Lost Memories

Submitted to Contest #148

The Re-Birth Of Lost Memories: By Stephen B. Allen (Steve Baldyga)Every instance when the scoop of the excavator enthusiastically tore into the rubble of 16 Seaside Drive, it felt as if another memory—fully forgotten and buried so very long ago—was exhumed from its grave to resonate within my mind! For the old (one hundred-fifty some odd years it had existed on this earth) three-story Victorian-style house being readily demolished just happened to be the site of the very first apartment I ever had of my own.Standing upon the sidewalk wh...

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Turning the Page

Submitted to Contest #148

Leroy, is everything ready to go? I want this thing ready to blow right at the end of my interview” Dan released the button on the radio and turned to this publicist.  “A building implosion would make great television, would it not?” “I think it would make amazing television Mr. Irons”, his publicist said as she returned a text on her phone.  “For the last time, call me Dan.”  The radio beeped and buzzed.  “We’re ready to go as soon as you give the order Dan,” A voice said from the radio. “Thank you L...

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The Veranda

Submitted to Contest #148

You only hear about haunted houses. Blockbuster horror movies take place in large Victorian houses or creepy cabins in the middle of nowhere. Everybody knows that. Nobody’s ever been willed an apartment in some lower middle-class neighborhood by a mysterious aunt. Rich families with old secrets don’t hire nannies to watch peculiar children in apartment buildings. That’s not the kind of setting an audience wants to look at for two hours; it’s just not good story telling. Besides, a proper haunted location needed to be old, or built on top of ...

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Staring Down the Barrel of a Wrecking Ball

Submitted to Contest #148

I just don't understand. I did my best. Come rain, snow, wind, and even the freak tornado of '84, I stood tall and protected the people from the elements. I've seen thousands of faces pass through my halls, and sure some have been sad or angry but never with me. Well, maybe a few with me, but most of those were actually the plumber's fault. (Larry? Barry? Some white-bread name ending in -arry) Yet I wager that plumber is sound asleep tonight in another apartment building, one with those hip, white stone walls and a Jamba Juice or somethi...

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